Clinton Elementary School

We hope that this email finds all of our families doing well and enjoying the Fall. We have had a busy month thus far, celebrating Hispanic Heritage with a special guest, kicking off our Leader in Me program, receiving our 1:1 Chromebooks, and taking the STAR and Start Strong Assessments. Below you will find information on our special guest for Hispanic Heritage Month. You will also find information on our Leader in Me schoolwide program.

As we continue through the month of October, it is important that I share that a decision was made at Clinton to not "celebrate" Halloween due to the large number of families who do not recognize this holiday. We will be celebrating the wonderful season of Fall and all things pumpkin! To that end, we hope that you can join us at the Clinton PTA Pumpkin Patch on Saturday, October 23rd!

Starting on Monday, October 18th, the Clinton Driveway, Bus Loop, and Parking Lot will be closed to pedestrian traffic. This is to keep students and families safe. Please be prepared to walk around the building or to use the gate to our field on Garfield. We appreciate your cooperation.

Fondly, Jennifer Connors, Principal & Zoila Correa, Assistant Principal

Clinton School is kicking off our 5th year as a Leader in Me school. Leader in Me unites students, staff, and families around a common goal to prepare students with college, career, and life readiness skills that are necessary to thrive in today's ever-changing, fast-paced environment through the teaching of the 8 Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey). The Leader in Me program follows a theory of change known as the See-Do-Get Cycle. When you change the way you See things, it influences what you Do and the results you Get. The Leader in Me Program uses a holistic approach to educating the whole student through a focus on leadership, culture, and academics. Our School Lighthouse Team is made up of Lighthouse Coordinators, teachers & staff, students, and parents. This year, our Lighthouse Team will harness the power and resources of Leader in Me to help us address possible gaps in learning caused by the Pandemic as it relates to the whole person, not solely academic achievement. The three areas we will focus on are leadership, culture, and academics.

• Leadership - A goal for Clinton is that we will hear every voice. Our teachers and staff will work with our students to rebuild leadership skills by focusing on social-emotional learning. A lack of in-person peer and community interaction, coupled with “stay-at-home fatigue,” might mean students’ social-emotional skills have gotten rusty. We will engage students in relevant service-learning projects that help them rebuild social-emotional learning through practical application of the 8 Habits. We could, for example, discuss our freedom to proactively choose our response to our circumstances (Habit 1) and Synergize with community partners to come up with creative solutions (Habit 6).
• Culture - Our teachers and staff will rebuild trust and culture by focusing on the emotional environment. Excessive screen time, lack of peer interaction and time away from school structure are just a few factors that may have caused our classroom and school culture to take a step back. In addition, Clinton will be welcoming new staff members into our community. A plan will be created to indoctrinate new staff into Leader in Me. Teachers and staff will teach students about the Emotional Bank Account. Develop class and school systems in place to make regular deposits into the account of every member of the school community—students, staff, and families. One great way to extend trust and make regular deposits is by increasing student voice through leadership roles.
• Academics - A goal for Clinton School is to use data to inform our small group instruction so that we identify and target gaps in learning. Our students may have some “wildly important gaps” to address, and that’s what Wildly Important Goals, or WIGs, are designed to help us tackle. The goal-setting experience will be inspiring and fun for students! We will create and use compelling physical or digital scoreboards to track effort in completing lead measures. Some teachers may even have students hold their own "Parent-Teacher Conference"! Finally, we will authentically celebrate student accomplishments at every level!

Please join the October 20th PTA General Meeting to hear about our presentation to the Curriculum & Instruction Committee of the SOMSD BOE. At the PTA General Meeting, we will also share more details about the Leader in Me program and resources for parents and families!

CARLOS M. POMARES of Bloomfield was elected as District 5 Commissioner in November 2017. In 2020, he was re-elected for second term on the Board, being unanimously elected as the Board’s Vice-President, the first Hispanic to hold a position on executive committee.

Commissioner Pomares has served as a strong advocate for arts, culture, and historic preservation. He previously served as Councilman At-Large in Bloomfield Township, elected in 2013 and 2016. He has been instrumental in the creation of the Morris Canal Greenway in Bloomfield, notably with the creation of Canal Park at Oak Tree lane, the restoration of the historic Collins House, the development of the Morris Canal Greenway way finder signs and the Greenway mobile app.

He graduated from Caldwell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and received awards for his public speaking and museum work. He also holds a Master of Arts degree from Seton Hall University. Commissioner Pomares currently serves as the Executive Director of the Cuban Artists Fund and is a history and political science professor at William Paterson University and Hudson County Community College.

Throughout his museum career, Pomares has diligently served the President Grover Cleveland Birthplace, King Manor Museum, Waterloo Foundation for the Arts, the NYC Police Museum, and the Montclair Historical Society. Pomares has also provided executive and development expertise for nonprofit organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity.

Recent awards include:

• 2019 Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Hispanic Heritage Award Man of the Year

• 2019 Public Servant of the Year from Essex County Latino-American Chamber of Commerce

• 2017 Man of the Year from Bloomfield Police Benevolent Association

• 2017 Veritas Award for Cultural Excellence from Caldwell University

• 2016 Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member from Hudson County Community College

• 2016 Hispanic Heritage Award from the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders

Aside from his professional experiences, Commissioner Pomares serves is the Founder/President of the Bloomfield Cruisers, a non-profit, vintage automobile organization. The club supports a variety of local charitable endeavors such as an annual academic scholarship, spring bicycle giveaway, and annual toy drive. He also volunteers as Chairman of the Bloomfield Morris Canal Greenway, the Cub Scouts Pack 22, and the Boy Scouts Troop 22.

Commissioner Pomares spoke to our second-grade students this past week, sharing his Hispanic heritage and accomplishments.

∙ Contractor continued working on submittals for review/approval ∙ Contractor continued working on RFI’s for review

∙ Epic continued to document on work underway and building conditions ∙ PSE&G Service Pole Installation. (Weather permitting). Completed ∙ Electricians to work on feeders and receptacles.

∙ Delivery and installation of steel for additions C done on 10/2/21. Metal decking to be delivered 10/12/21.

∙ Delivery and installation of steel for Addition A completed on 10/9/21… Metal decking to be delivered 10/12/21.

∙ Excavate and trench for transformer. Waiting on PSE&G for transformer. ∙ Poured Slab on Grade (SOG) at Areas A and C.

Email: jconnors@somsd.k12.nj.us
Website: https://www.somsd.k12.nj.us/clinton/
Location: 27 Berkshire Road, Maplewood, NJ, USA
Phone: 973-378-7686